


i just want to love you

by jeongkwans



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, background terufuta, god i suck at everything fic related why am i doing this, i feel so bad for hurting goshiki, i have to feed the yahashira tag, i looked over this once and didn't edit past that, if you can't tell i really projected on to shirabu, one sided Goshiki Tsutomu/Shirabu Kenjirou, rated t for cursing, semi and oikawa don't do much but anyways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 15:30:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20117377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeongkwans/pseuds/jeongkwans
Summary: Shirabu thought that this training camp was going to be a fun time, but it didn't take long for feelings to get in the way.





	i just want to love you

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic and i don't like it that much but i finished it so it's getting posted anyways. yahashira stans enjoy these crumbs!

Shirabu wished he wasn’t the type to think he might like a guy after seeing him once, but he was an idiot. He knew he shouldn’t think about it before a big game, but Seijoh’s number 6 was beautiful. The boy was adorable, with beautiful brown eyes and light brown hair. He looked taller than Shirabu, and his serious expression drew him in. The boy was too busy looking at Ushijima to notice Shirabu staring at him, but Seijoh’s libero looked him directly in the eye and smirked, causing Shirabu to avert his eyes quickly. 

_ Focus, Kenjirou _. Shirabu took a deep breath and looked straight ahead, trying to keep his eyes away from the cute boy. His team went over to the coach for a brief meeting before the game began, and he felt something nudge his shoulder. “You good there Shirabu? You look a little distracted,” Goshiki whispered, careful not to get anyone else’s attention. 

“I’m fine. By the time the whistle blows, I’ll be ready to play,” Shirabu responded with a hint of firmness in his voice. Satisfied with this answer, Goshiki nodded slightly before focusing his attention back on their coach.

“Their setter may be amazing, but there is no one else on that team that would possibly be any trouble to you guys. Just do what you normally do and break down their defenses. This is an easy win for you boys,” Washijo reminded them, but it was nothing the Shiratorizawa team had never heard before. Their team was on a completely different level than any other in the prefecture. They had no reason to worry.

In all honesty, Shirabu didn’t remember much about the game itself. They won fairly easily, and it was nothing out of the ordinary. He played as he was expected to, setting the ball to Ushijima whenever it was an option. 

However, both Seijoh’s setters stuck with him. The starter, Oikawa, had an expression he’d never seen anyone have in a match before. He was clearly disappointed, but it didn’t look like this was directed at anyone other than himself. As expected, there was also the usual anger towards Ushijima. Shirabu was sure he had heard about some history between this setter and Ushijima about how he was wasting his talents at Seijoh.

The benchwarmer setter was somehow more memorable. He wasn’t as good as the starter, but he had a strong spirit that Shirabu couldn’t stop thinking about, and he almost felt guilty for breaking it as he kept setting to Ushijima. _ Almost. _

After the awards ceremony, Goshiki went over to Shirabu and hugged him tight. Due to the way the setter tensed, Goshiki backed off. “You played well today!” the first year told Shirabu brightly. 

“Thank you, Goshiki. You did amazing as well,” He responded without thinking too much. The younger boy nodded furiously, and Shirabu noticed a slight blush on his cheeks, which slightly confused the setter, but sometimes people blushed like that after a game or practice. “Let’s get going,” Shirabu said, and Goshiki followed him to the bus cheerfully.

\---

It was months later when Shirabu saw Seijoh’s number 6 again. Shiratorizawa went into the final game against Karasuno fully expecting to win. The team had improved since the Inter High championships, but they weren’t all that amazing yet. As the game progressed, Shirabu realized all too late that he had underestimated the team.

When the short number 10 made his last spike, Shirabu froze. The whistle blew, confirming the end of the game, and his world flipped upside down. Karasuno had beaten them. A team that wasn’t even worth noting the year before had beat Shiratorizawa, the biggest powerhouse in the area.

The few minutes directly after the match were a huge blur. He could vaguely remember Karasuno’s celebrations, Tendou being overdramatic, and Goshiki’s tears. Shirabu himself may have been crying, but he couldn’t remember. Nothing had registered with him past the moment when he heard the whistle.

Shirabu went to the bathroom after thanking the people who came to cheer for the team. He needed a minute away from the court and his team to think, but that didn’t end up happening. Right when he walked by one of the stairwells, the setter from Seijoh walked by. The two made eye contact, which caused some restraint broke in Shirabu, and the setter started to tear up.

“Oh my god are you okay? Wait that’s a stupid question I was like this yesterday-” the other setter rambled, cut off by Shirabu raising a hand to tell him to shut him up. The boy started blushing. _ He’s cute when he blushes- no Kenjirou don’t think that! _

“I doubt I’m okay, but I have to manage. Are you a player at Seijoh?” Shirabu asked the boy, even though he had already known the answer.

“Yeah! My name’s Yahaba Shigeru, and I’m a setter. Not that I get to play much with Oikawa on the team, but I’m gonna be the captain next year,” Yahaba replied, his expression changing when he said he’d be taking Oikawa’s spot. With this, Shirabu realized he was more similar to this boy than he might’ve thought originally.

“I’m Shirabu Kenjirou, and I’m also a setter that’s going to be the captain next year,” Shirabu smiled, wiping some tears off his face as he spoke. Yahaba smiled back, and Shirabu wished that didn’t affect his heart as much as it did.

“Maybe we should keep in touch some. You don’t seem like as much of an idiot as the rest of my team,” Yahaba laughed, smiling wider as Shirabu nodded in agreement. “Here, just add your phone number. I’ll text you at some point. You should go back to your team soon for the awards.”

Shirabu then realized what this may look like to any of his teammates. He was giving the cute setter from their school’s biggest rival his phone number. However, Shirabu was in need of someone to talk to that he didn’t know well, so he didn’t care.

“See you around, I guess,” Shirabu told the other boy before turning back to the gym. Yahaba hummed quietly in response, so quietly that Shirabu missed it.

Once again, everything after returning to the rest of the team was a blur, up until Ushijima spoke to all of them back at Shiratorizawa. Being called out specifically as the next captain that was expected to hold the team together had freaked Shirabu out a bit, but something in Ushijima’s voice kept him calm.

Shirabu knew he’d never be that good of a captain, but he felt that he owed it to the third years to try his hardest after they left. After thinking that, Shirabu was holding back tears. He never actually cried, mainly because Washijo was actually serious about the 100 serves.

It wasn’t until he got back home that he looked at his phone, slightly surprised to see that he had a message from an unknown number along with some from his teammates and his family members.

**Unknown:** hey shirabu it’s me yahaba!

Shirabu cringed when he realized that the message was from hours ago. Yahaba had probably texted right when he got home, and was likely disappointed that Shirabu never responded.

**Shirabu:** hey sorry i got this so late coach made us hit 100 serves when we got back

**Yahaba:** jesus christ,, glad we didn’t have to do that

**Shirabu:** hey can i ask you something personal

**Shirabu:** i know we barely know each other but still

**Yahaba:** is it about being captain bc i’m really worried about that too

**Shirabu:** yeah,, ushijima talked to all of us when we got back and it scared me

**Shirabu:** he expects so much from me and idk if i can fill his shoes

**Yahaba:** i feel the same about oikawa

**Yahaba:** he brings out the best in all of us and i just can’t do that

**Shirabu:** i guess we can complain about being horrible captains huh

**Yahaba:** sounds like a plan

**Yahaba:** now get to sleep it helps with the sadness

**Shirabu:** ok mom

Putting his phone down, Shirabu went through his normal night routine. He knew Yahaba was right about sleeping. Pulling all nighters didn’t make anyone feel better in any way. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, talking to Yahaba had helped calm him down. Maybe it was because they were going to experience the same self-doubt with becoming captains, but it could also be that Yahaba was underestimating himself as a captain.

Shirabu didn’t check his phone after getting into bed, and just went to sleep a few minutes after laying down. For once, it had been somewhat from relaxation instead of just pure exhaustion.

\---

After a few months of getting closer with Yahaba over text and sometimes meeting in person, Shirabu realized that he might be closer with the other setter than he ever expected he would be. He and Yahaba had shockingly similar personalities and were able to talk to each other about some similar experiences with being captains. They still jokingly kept the rivalries between their schools, but neither cared as much as their previous captains.

Right when Shirabu had gotten the idea to ask Yahaba about a practice match, Washijo beat him to the punch.

“In three weeks, we’re going to have a training camp with some of the other Miyagi schools where we play them in practice matches. I know this is a new experience, but the coaches have decided that it will help everyone out, even if we learn each other’s favored tactics,” the coach announced.

“What teams will be there?” Goshiki asked excitedly. Shirabu had a feeling that the younger boy was looking forward to playing who the setter thought of as smaller version of Goshiki, Karasuno’s number 10.

“Dateko, Karasuno, Johzenji, and Aoba Johsai have confirmed that they will be coming,” Washijo answered, and Shirabu felt himself get excited. He had never actually played against Yahaba in match before, and he had always been curious about what his friend was like on the court. _ My friend _.

Before Washijo could yell at them about being lazy, Shirabu stood up. “If we want to keep our reputation as the best team in the area, we’re going to have to train harder now,” he said, feeling a little prideful when the demon coach nodded at his words. The way Goshiki leaped up made Shirabu roll his eyes, but he threw in a smile to make sure the kid didn’t feel bad.

“Shirabu! Can you set the ball for me? I want to work on my crosses!” the second year said, bouncing up and down wildly. His energy was somewhat confusing to Shirabu, but he had learned to just let the spiker burn some of it off before going and doing something else. “Ok,” Shirabu responded, watching as Goshiki ran over to get some volleyballs.

Practice went on as normal, and Shirabu was happy to see that everyone was putting in more effort than usual at practice. Everyone knew of Shiratorizawa’s legacy, and no one wanted to cause any harm to it. _ I wonder how I can make them keep this energy even when there isn’t an upcoming training camp _. He loved his team to death, but they could be a little lazy sometimes, even if they were still immensely talented.

After what felt like an hour, Goshiki still wasn’t done spiking, and Shirabu was getting irritated. “Hey can I go practice my serves now? I think that’s enough spiking for today,” he suggested to the younger player as calmly as he could. Goshiki nodded feverishly, and went off to ask if he could receive someone else’s serves. Shirabu wished he had some of that boundless energy.

“How is one person so hyper?” Shirabu asked no one in particular, but he heard Kawanishi snort from somewhere behind him. Truthfully, he felt the same energy as the rest of his team, mainly because he was excited to compete against the other captains. They had been subject to some forced bonding activities by the previous captains, which had kept the rivalries alive, but also forged some friendships. The training camp was definitely going to be an interesting experience.

The first thing Shirabu did when he got home after practice was text Yahaba.

**Kenjirou:** hey did your coach tell you about the training camp today

**Kenjirou:** i’m so ready to destroy everyone there

**Shigeru:** not so fast there buddy

**Shigeru:** when i can make him cooperate Kyoutani’s able to beat anyone

**Kenjirou:** so pushing people against walls is helpful,, noted

**Shigeru:** i mean if they’re small enough that u can do that

**Kenjirou:** yeah i’m gonna crush you jerk >:(

**Shigeru:** shinguards exist for a reason! <3

**Kenjirou:** i will destroy your bloodline

**Shigeru:** love you too kenjirou!

Something about that text made Shirabu blush. It wasn’t like Yahaba had never sent him those words before, in fact he’d say them every time Shirabu told him he felt insulted. But for some reason, it was different to him this time. He sent a quick text to Yahaba about how it was time for him to eat dinner and do his work, completely ignoring the “love you.” Shirabu was probably just being weird for some reason. To distract himself, he threw himself into his schoolwork and went to bed as soon as he could.

\---

Three weeks later, it was time for the highly anticipated training camp. When he got on the bus that morning, Shirabu noticed that as he’d expected, Kawanishi was the only person who looked normal. On the other hand, Goshiki was practically vibrating with excitement. “I’m gonna beat that little number 10!” the second year said to Kawanishi, who just laughed. “You two would be an unstoppable duo, you know.”

Shirabu rolled his eyes at the shocked expression on Goshiki’s face and put his earbuds in. Just the thought of the orange-haired kid and Goshiki working together was slightly terrifying; they both had insane stamina and energy in general. The captains had been texting back and forth for the past three weeks, and Ennoshita promised that he’d make Goshiki hang out with number 10, and it was a worrying promise.

The captains’ group chat had gotten much more active since the training camp had been announced. The rivalries had sparked up some afterwards, especially between Shirabu, Yahaba, and Ennoshita. Futakuchi and Terushima pushed them as a joke, and it had led to some amazing quotes. Sadly, many of them were making fun of Shirabu’s height, which still made him mad.

The worst part was that whenever Shirabu got mad, Yahaba would jokingly call him cute. He knew they were jokes, but Shirabu kept getting really flustered. He would pretend nothing was wrong when he teased Yahaba back, but he would feel weird every time. Yahaba was cute, sure, but Shirabu couldn’t have a crush on him.

No one expected Shirabu to be a clingy person because of how common it was for him to make fun of all his friends. However, Shirabu constantly craved attention. Dating someone who went to another school wasn’t likely to work out well for him. He knew he’d probably irritate Yahaba way to much by texting him constantly. _ You don’t even like him, Kenjirou. Stop thinking about that, _ Shirabu chided himself.

There was no time to think about Yahaba. The bus had arrived at the place where the teams had decided to meet up, and Shirabu knew he had to lead his team. The first years were really excited to be at their first practice games. Washijo had decided that they would have some of the weaker players get some experience on the court, which honestly surprised Shirabu a bit, given his tendency to have only the most powerful people play.

Right when getting off the bus, Terushima came running towards Shiratorizawa at full speed. “Terushima, don’t scare the children,” Shirabu told him calmly, laughing at the expression on his friend’s face.

“You never let me have fun, you jerk,” Terushima pouted in response, sticking his tongue out when Shirabu laughed harder.

“Your fun involves giving my first years and Goshiki heart attacks. Go annoy Futakuchi or, better yet, Yahaba.”

“Kenji’s not here yet and I’ve already had the guy that looks like a bee sent after me for annoying Yahaba.”

“Then go find your team. Don’t tell me you lost them.”

“Actually, that’s a great idea. I may have left them alone with Karasuno. Bye!” With that, Terushima ran away towards the gym.

“That guy’s weird,” Goshiki observed. Shirabu nodded gravely. Being in a group chat with that kid was difficult, even for someone who was used to dealing with Tendou.

“Well guys,” Shirabu said, turning to his teammates. “We’re the strongest team here, but that doesn’t mean we need to get cocky. The other teams aren’t going to be bad, so you still need to try. But this camp is also for fun, so make some friends. Preferably after we beat them.”

The rest of his team started grinning wildly. They had been waiting for this camp for almost a month now, and Shirabu knew that. This was going to be a fun week.

“Don’t get too full of yourself, Kenjirou! Seijoh may not have Oikawa anymore, but we still have me!” Yahaba had the audacity to wink, and Shirabu fought the urge to blush. Maybe this week wasn’t going to be as amazing as he had expected.

Thankfully, the rest of Shirabu’s team decided to take up complaints about this statement with Yahaba all at the same time. The boy looked overwhelmed, and Shirabu couldn’t help but laugh at him, earning him a harsh glare from the other captain. “Shiratorizawa, let’s go warm up. We can shut Yahaba up on the court.”

Kawanishi was the first to follow, and the rest of the team followed eventually. “That captain was so overconfident, right?” Goshiki scoffed. Shirabu laughed and ruffled the ace’s hair.

“He’s a friend of mine. Don’t scare him too much; he’s terrified of almost anything,” Shirabu responded lightly. That wasn’t really true; anyone who could tell that Kyoutani what to do was definitely fearless, but Shirabu was just encouraging Goshiki to try and intimidate Yahaba. Not that someone with as much of a baby face as this kid could truly intimidate anyone, but it was motivation nonetheless.

“Shirabu! We’re having a captain’s meeting when Dateko get here! For all the bragging Futakuchi did the past few weeks you’d expect him to show up on time,” Ennoshita said, shaking his head. Shirabu waved back at him, continuing on with his team. Everyone else had broken into separate conversations, and Kawanishi came up to Shirabu.

“Why is Seijoh’s captain the only one who calls you by your given name?” the vice captain asked. Truthfully, Shirabu didn’t exactly understand either. At some point, they just both decided that it made sense to use their given names, kind of like Terushima and Futakuchi. What made that weird was that those two were clearly pining after each other. Was Shirabu pining for Yahaba?

Cutting that train of thought short, Shirabu responded. “We’ve been talking to each other for a while now, and eventually we just decided to call each other by our given names.”

“He _ is _ pretty cute, Shirabu.”

“Taichi, I hope you know that I hate you.” Shirabu wished he wasn’t blushing as badly as he was when he responded. He was grateful that Kawanishi wasn’t the type to tease. If Goshiki had been the one asking the question, everyone the ace knew would know about Shirabu’s possible crush.

Shirabu was saved from further thoughts about his feelings by Futakuchi finally arriving. Dateko’s captain was as loud as always, yelling when he walked in to let everyone know he was there. Had the coaches not been there, Shirabu suspected he would’ve been much louder and much more inappropriate.

“Now that Futakuchi finally decided to show up, we can have our meeting,” Ennoshita announced loudly, rolling his eyes at the late arrival. The other four captains followed him over to a whiteboard that was in the hallway near the water fountains. Ennoshita had become a leader among the group of captains, and none of them knew exactly why. Maybe it was because he was actually able to keep the rest of Karasuno’s third years in check.

“It’s nice to have you guys here. Last year, Karasuno went up to Tokyo to play against some of the best teams up there, but they don't have a camp before Inter-High. We decided it might be nice to play against you guys, especially because we have many unsolved rivalries,” Ennoshita explained.

“The coaches set up the schedule here, and we decided that we won’t do penalties until the fourth day. No way I’m doing 60 of those again.” The captains crowded around the whiteboard, and Shirabu’s heart sank. He was starting off the week playing against Yahaba. He had never actually seen the boy play before, and he also didn’t know if he had a crush on him or not. Wonderful.

“Ready to get your ass kicked, Kenjirou?”

“In your dreams, Shigeru.”

\---

By the time the day was over, Shirabu realized two things. The first was that training camps were amazing. He had missed out on these for two years because of Washijo’s pride, but the other teams turned out to be more formidable opponents than anyone expected. Johzenji was even able to almost take a set from them due to their unpredictable style of playing. _ Tendou would’ve loved to- no Kenjirou stop that right there. This isn’t the time to be sad. _

The second, much more important revelation was that Shirabu was, in fact, in love with Yahaba. The setter looked so focused when he played, yet his eyes showed that he was competitive and wanted nothing more than to win. Yahaba was no Oikawa, but he was still a good player and evidently a good captain. In their first game, Shirabu felt oddly prideful when the other captain did a setter dump.

Shiratorizawa won the set by six points. Yahaba wasn’t discouraged by this, instead it made him more excited. The evil smile on his face had made Shirabu’s heart pound. “We’re going to beat you at some point this week, Kenjirou. You better watch your back.”

Unable to think of a witty reply, Shirabu smirked and shook his head, coaxing a laugh out of Yahaba. Kawanishi was looking at Shirabu when he turned around. Once they were out of Yahaba’s earshot, Shirabu sighed in defeat. “You were right earlier.” Kawanishi nodded as if he’d predicted that and went back to what he was doing. Yet again, Shirabu realized how grateful he was for his friend.

Shirabu was slightly distracted for the rest of the games that day. It wasn’t enough to get the demon coach on him, but it was affecting the way he played. Goshiki was the first one to call him out on his playing when he gave him a bad toss during their match against Dateko.

“Are you okay today? Your tosses have been kinda off since the first match.” Goshiki’s voice showed actual concern about Shirabu, which he was grateful for. Sadly, Shirabu had no way of telling him that he was off his game because he was too busy thinking about the Seijoh setter’s stupid creampuff hair.

“I’m just a little worn out right now. I won’t mess up again,” Shirabu assured the spiker, who immediately started to go red. “Before you jump to my defense, I’m also capable of making mistakes, Goshiki. It’s okay to call me out.”

Goshiki blushed for a full five minutes after that, but Shirabu was able to get back in the groove. There were no true problems after that, but Shirabu knew his mind wasn’t 100% in it. Evidently, Goshiki noticed as well and texted him about it that night.

**Goshiki:** are you sure you’re good? you still didn’t seem better after the seijoh game

**Shirabu:** as i said, i was tired. i also wasn’t used to playing without ushijima or the others

**Goshiki:** that makes sense. get some sleep shirabu!

**Shirabu:** that goes for you too, goshiki

Something about Goshiki going out of his way to text Shirabu and check on him was endearing. Goshiki was a sweet kid, and a highly valued friend of Shirabu’s. He always felt comfortable around him, even if he didn’t understand the younger boy’s constant energy. Ushijima had been a valued player and friend, but Shirabu didn’t feel as close to him as he was with Goshiki, likely because the former ace never understood his sense of humor, or at least didn’t reply.

Yahaba, however, had the exact same sense of humor as Shirabu. About a week into their friendship, the two realized that they had much more in common than volleyball. They would constantly have battles of witty remarks and jokes, and Shirabu felt comfortable talking to Yahaba, which is something rare for him.

This crush was definitely going to complicate their relationship. They jokingly used pet names all the time, and that was only going to hurt Shirabu until he got over this. Yahaba was also ridiculously cute, and Shirabu was weak whenever cute boys were involved. Due to the camp, Shirabu’s feelings were likely to just get worse over the next week because he’d be seeing Yahaba constantly. _ You can do this, Kenjirou. _

\---

Apparently, Shirabu could not do it. 

He had made an innocent comment during a game against Karasuno. That annoying kid with the glasses kept blocking Goshiki’s spikes, and he was getting angrier the longer he went without scoring. Shirabu was dedicated to being a good captain, and that meant cheering the ace up.

“Goshiki. You’re getting too reckless. I get that you want to score, but you need to trust me to do that. I won’t let you lose, but you have to do your part and think about what to do before I give you a toss. We can’t be at our best without you playing well, and I want us to be our best,” Shirabu told the younger boy, putting his hand on his shoulder to get and keep his attention. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but Goshiki’s reaction was a surprise to him.

Blushing deeply, Goshiki swallowed and looked Shirabu in the eye. Some might think he was being confident, but there was clear embarrassment in the ace’s eyes. “You can count on me, Shirabu,” he squeaked out, sounding no more confident than he looked. Shirabu threw himself into the game after that, deciding to think about it later. Ennoshita didn’t deserve the bragging rights.

But when he thought about it after the game, Shirabu realized that he was possibly the least observant person alive. There was a very high chance that Goshiki was in love with him. While texting him last night was a friend thing, Goshiki got too flustered by his compliments for it to be nothing important. It was obvious that the boy cared for Shirabu, but it was more than solely platonic, like how the other captains cared for him. This had to be a crush.

Normally, Shirabu wouldn’t care about something like this and would just carry on with his life. In this case, doing his normal thing while having a massive crush on Yahaba would likely lead to Goshiki’s heart getting broken, and that wasn’t something Shirabu could deal with. Realizing that he only had one option, Shirabu picked up his phone.

**Shirabu:** hey semi can i call you? i need help

**Semi: **what about

**Shirabu:** goshiki,,

**Semi:** ok

Semi picked up right when Shirabu called him. “What happened with Goshiki?” he asked immediately. Semi understood that when Shirabu wanted to talk, basic questions only made him more panicked. Shirabu missed him. He may have been a jerk to him before the Karasuno game, but they became much closer after that. There was no one to talk to on the team anymore. 

“I finally realized that Goshiki has a crush on me, but I don’t feel the same way and I like someone else,” Shirabu responded bluntly, effectively summarizing the whole situation. He may be overdramatic on the inside, but no one needed to know that. Semi was quiet for a minute, thinking about the situation.

“You pretty much have two options. One, you can confess to the person you like. Two, you don’t confess and wait until Goshiki confesses to you. If he’s made it obvious that he likes you, Goshiki’s likely to confess soon. That only has one outcome, unless you start to like Goshiki back in a few days. He’s probably going to get his heart broken in that scenario.

“You can also confess. That can go one of two ways. They like you back, and you can tell the team you’re in a relationship. They can also reject you, which is the worst outcome for you and Goshiki because both of your hearts get broken. But if you get with them, Goshiki’s heart may get broken, but it won’t be as bad,” Semi explained calmly, as if he wasn’t talking about one of the happiest people in the world experiencing heartbreak.

“Why does me getting in a relationship hurt Goshiki the least? I thought that would be the worst for him.” Shirabu really just asked this because he had no desire to ask Yahaba out. Like Semi said, the worst outcome came from confessing, and Shirabu didn’t like to take chances like that.

“If he asked you out, Goshiki would have to muster up the courage just to be rejected outright. He doesn’t deal with things like that well. Even though you being in a relationship gives him no way to get with you, it’s more of a roundabout rejection instead of just rejecting him to his face.”

Shirabu hated how Semi was clearly right here. He knew that Semi had played matchmaker before for Tendou and Ushijima, but he didn’t realize just how aware his senior was. Semi definitely wanted Shirabu to confess, but he didn’t have the courage.

After being lost in thought for a minute, Shirabu was brought back to the call by Semi clearing his throat. “If you don't mind me asking, who is it that you have a crush on?”

“Uh… Yahaba Shigeru. Seijoh’s new captain and setter,” Shirabu mumbled, blushing when Semi started to laugh a bit. He was never as invested in rivalries as the rest of the team, but Shirabu knew the thought of Oikawa’s junior dating Ushijima’s junior would be funny to anyone.

“Oikawa and I are friends now, so if you want to talk to him I can ask him to text you. He would know Yahaba better than I do, and maybe even better than you know him,” Semi suggested. It would give Shirabu more motivation to confess, but this was Oikawa Tooru they were talking about. Oikawa was a jerk.

“Why not?” Shirabu finally responded. Even without saying it, he knew why Semi wanted him to confess. Goshiki was a good kid as well as one of their closest friends. Confessing to Yahaba would possibly lead to the outcome where Goshiki was the least hurt, and that was what made Shirabu even consider telling his crush. Hurting Goshiki more than he had to was out of the question, no matter how hard it would be to confess.

Semi hung up before Shirabu could thank him for helping. Before he could text a quick ‘thank you’ to his friend, a text from an unknown number came through. _ This is gonna be irritating _. Shirabu sighed to himself before opening the text.

**Unknown:** hey shirabu! nice to meet the new captain of the most annoying team!

**Shirabu:** can you please be serious for one second

**Oikawa:** yes, but i have to put effort into that

**Oikawa:** but i’ll do it for you!

**Shirabu:** did semi tell you everything?

**Oikawa:** you have some intense love triangle going on at shiratorizawa

**Oikawa:** the resident ball of sunshine is in love with you but you love someone else

**Oikawa:** who is your crush btw? semi wouldn’t tell me

**Shirabu:** i’ll tell you after you help me. if you aren’t too annoying

**Oikawa:** i think semi’s right. it hurts less to know you never had a chance in the first place

**Oikawa:** it’s hard to work up the nerve to confess, but you can’t hurt the happy kid on your team

**Oikawa:** he’s the only valid team member

**Oikawa:** was that too annoying

**Shirabu:** … it’s yahaba

**Oikawa:** are you serious

**Oikawa:** betrayed by my own junior,, this is unbelievable

**Oikawa:** i raised this child and he decides to pull some romeo and juliet shit on me

**Shirabu:** sorry to interrupt you but do you have any tips for me asking out yahaba

**Oikawa:** fine. he doesn’t like anything too over the top, but get sappy and it makes him blush

**Oikawa:** you two seem similar so it wouldn’t be too weird for him to like you back

**Oikawa:** if he rejects you, he won’t be weird about it. he rejected kyoutani and they’re still friends

**Oikawa:** it will hurt, but he’s not gonna bring it up

**Oikawa:** i might tell him to if ushijima pisses me off at any point though

**Shirabu:** what do i have to do with ushijima making you mad

**Shirabu:** well i need to go to sleep now

**Shirabu:** you might’ve been a jerk about it but thanks for helping me

**Oikawa:** that was the intention!

Rolling his eyes, Shirabu checked the time. It was still pretty early, and he didn’t _ need _ to go to sleep for a few more hours. The rest of the captains seemed to share the same thought. Shirabu checked his phone to see a text from Futakuchi asking him to come meet the other captains at a nearby playground. It was a weird hangout spot, but Shirabu liked swings so he was fine with it.

On his way to the playground, Shirabu almost knocked Yahaba over. What a way to greet his crush. “Watch where you’re going,” Yahaba told him, but the words had no bite and sounded more playful than anything. Shirabu kicked the back of Yahaba’s knee, laughing as the boy stumbled forward, even as he got slapped on the shoulder.

“How’s the training camp been going for you, Kenjirou? I noticed that you seemed really out of it on the first day, but you’ve looked better today,” Yahaba asked, and he actually sounded concerned. Shirabu had no idea how to respond to that. There was no way he could tell his crush that he was only out of it because he had realized he had fallen in love with him.

“I hadn’t gotten enough sleep then, but my team made me go to sleep earlier last night,” Shirabu lied, hoping that it was enough to keep Yahaba from asking more questions. Judging by the way the older boy nodded, Shirabu decided that he was successful.

“Just take care of yourself, okay?” Yahaba told the other setter quietly, and Shirabu could’ve sworn that he was blushing. “I need you to be at your best when I destroy your team,” Yahaba added quickly. It didn’t seem like he planned on saying that, and he sounded slightly flustered. _ Don’t get your hopes up _, Shirabu told himself internally, but he knew there was no way he was going to listen to himself.

Before the two could get too awkward, they arrived at the playground that they had been called to. Futakuchi and Terushima seemed to be trying to see who could swing the highest while Ennoshita was watching them and laughing. Terushima was the one who saw the setters first, and nearly fell off the swing when he tried to wave to the pair.

The pair on the swings jumped down almost as soon as Yahaba and Shirabu were in sight, and somehow managed to not hurt themselves. Ennoshita picked up a basket that he had left on the side of the bench and led the others over to a spot that was near the trees. He pulled out a large blanket, and the other four spread it out while Ennoshita got out the snacks.

“We never talk in real life, you know? We only text, what’s happening with you guys?” Futakuchi asked. Shirabu already decided that he hated this conversation. “Me and Yuuji are dating of course, but do any of you have a significant other?”

_ Wait. _ Shirabu didn’t exactly know if he should’ve been very surprised by that. The two had been pining after each other since the captains’ group chat was created, and they always used their given names when talking to each other. But that wasn’t weird, because Shirabu and Yahaba did that all the time and they were just friends. No matter how much Shirabu wanted to date Yahaba, they were just friends.

Shirabu’s spiral was paused by the sensation of someone poking his arm. “You good?” Yahaba whispered to him, causing Shirabu to spiral even further. This boy was too much, from his soft smile to his stupid creampuff hair that Shirabu loved way more than necessary. Shirabu nodded in response, not trusting himself to speak for a minute.

“Seriously, is there anything going on with you guys? All I know about is the time Yahaba’s ace asked him out. That dude terrifies me,” Terushima added on to his boyfriend’s question. Those two were a match made in hell. “Shirabu. You’re blushing; you have to have something. Do you want to share it?” Shirabu really hated how perceptive other people were.

“The ace on my team is most likely in love with me,” Shirabu told his friends camly, but he started to laugh at their reactions. Ennoshita looked like he already knew, Terushima was shocked that he just said it like that, and Futakuchi was laughing at the situation. However, Yahaba wasn’t reacting; he just kept a blank expression and looked away from Shirabu.

Futakuchi noticed something was up with Yahaba and decided to direct the conversation somewhere else. “How’s the camp been for you and your team? Aone won’t stop trying to talk to that redhead from Karasuno and it’s a shock to see him speak.”

The group went back to sharing stories about the camp so far, but Shirabu couldn’t shake the weird thought that Yahaba was jealous when he told everyone about Goshiki’s crush on him. Shirabu had only just noticed that he liked Yahaba, and the two were both bad when it came to emotions, so Yahaba couldn’t already know. However, if he thought Shirabu liked Goshiki back, there was a possibility the uncomfortable reaction may have been out of jealousy, which was the preferred, yet most unlikely reason.

The conversation died down when Ennoshita got a message from one of his teammates asked him where he was. Apparently, it was almost midnight and they all had to be up in six hours to warm up before they played. The captains quickly packed up and started on their way back to where they were staying.

“We need to do that more,” Shirabu said, more to himself than to anyone else. He heard someone agree, and he was terrified that he’d have to talk to Yahaba more before turning around and realizing it was just Ennoshita.

“So that Goshiki kid likes you, huh. But you like Yahaba right?” Shirabu hated Ennoshita. This was no better than having to walk back with his crush. Taking Shirabu’s intense blush as a yes, Ennoshita laughed quietly.

“You aren’t that obvious, don’t worry. My team just tells me I’m scarily perceptive and that I freak them out sometimes,” Ennoshita assured the setter, but Shirabu was still in panic mode. There were lots of perceptive people, and Ennoshita was likely to tell his team about the situation, even if he didn’t say names. However, it didn’t seem like the loudest team members were likely to pay enough attention to anything other than volleyball to figure it out.

But if people were figuring out about this crush (before Shirabu even knew he had it), it was only a matter of time before Goshiki realized as well. “So this means I have to tell him,” Shirabu stated solemnly. Ennoshita nodded, and Shirabu mentaly hit himself.

“It won’t be as bad as you think it will. I promise, Shirabu. Just don’t hurt your ace too badly,” Ennoshita advised. _ How did everyone figure this out before me? Am I really that dense? _ Shirabu didn’t respond, and neither of them said another word to each other until they parted ways as they reached the place where their teams were staying and had to go back to their respective rooms.

“Where’d you go?” Goshiki had to have the worst possible timing.

“Me and the other captains just went to a playground to talk. Did you realize that Terushima and Futakuchi are dating or am I just that bad at noticing things?” Shirabu asked, trying his hardest to keep the conversation angled away from him so Goshiki didn’t confess to him.

“Those are the Dateko and Johzenji captains, right? I thought it was clear that they were pining after each other, but I didn’t think that they were actually together,” Goshiki mused, and Shirabu took that as his moment to escape before anything happened.

“Hey, I still have to go shower and study some.” Shirabu left no room for Goshiki to invite himself like he always did, and cringed a bit at how the younger boy’s smile clearly fell. Shirabu smiled weakly in apology, but left the room as quickly as he could. He felt horrible for treating Goshiki like that, but he still needed to work up the nerve to tell Yahaba.

After he took his shower, Shirabu stared at his textbook for a full ten minutes before he realized he wasn’t going to get anything done. According to his phone, it was about one in the morning. _ Better get some rest before tomorrow so I can confess. _

_ Wait. _ Without noticing, Shirabu had set a deadline for himself, but there was no way he was going to miss it, even if he had just made it up on accident. He always called Goshiki simple minded, but maybe that could apply to himself at times as well. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

\---

The third day of the camp was one of the days that Washijo had decided would be used to let benchwarmers get some experience. Shirabu was supposed to play the games during the first half of the day, and then offer help to the first year setter that would take his place. Other regulars were also being switched out in the earlier part of the day, which meant Shirabu had to sync up with the people he wasn’t used to playing with. It wasn’t too difficult, but their first set was against Dateko, which was a little worrying.

After a few mistakes during warmups, Shirabu saw two of the other captains come over. “Having some trouble Kenjirou? I thought you were one of the best players on your team,” Yahaba teased. Just the person Shirabu needed to see right now.

“You’d better get better before you play us, or else we’ll destroy you!” Futakuchi added, and he probably knew he was firing Shirabu up. That was his favorite thing to do after all. Shirabu just rolled his eyes at the duo, and got back to working with the other players. Hopefully they didn’t see his blush when Yahaba laughed openly at Futakuchi’s taunts.

Thankfully, Washijo had made Goshiki one of the players to switch out during the first half of the day. Without the constant reminder of his love life, Shirabu found it much easier to focus and was able to sync with everyone after a few rallies in their set against Dateko. They lost in the end, and Shirabu knew he was never going to hear the end of it from the other captain.

“Alright. That was more difficult than we expected, but we can try and fix what we did wrong in our next set which is against… Karasuno. Well. This is gonna be interesting,” Shirabu laughed. His teammates laughed along with him. Karasuno had better basics than when they played them during the Spring Tournament last year, but they still kept up their reputation as a team that was always ready to attack in any way they could.

Karasuno won the set, but it had gone to a deuce once Shirabu became entirely comfortable with the lineup. They won against Johzenji, which took much more effort than it should have. After their turn to take a break, it was time for them to face Seijoh.

Over the previous two days, Yahaba had become much more like Oikawa in the way that he was able to bring out almost all of his team’s full potential. He had still struggled some, but it was surprising to see how much Seijoh had improved so far. They had truly become a force to be reckoned with.

“Finally out of that funk you were in for the first two sets? I told you, I only want to beat you at your best,” Yahaba reminded him. Shirabu tried not to let it affect him, but that meant Yahaba wasn’t flustered after asking if he was okay last night. Shirabu just rolled his eyes and went back to his own team.

Shiratorizawa managed to take the set, but Seijoh was only three points behind them. Yahaba claimed it was because they were getting better, but Shirabu made sure to remind him that only half of the starters were playing in that game. The two bickered about the match all the way to lunch, and even for a couple minutes after they started eating.

They were interrupted by Seijoh’s libero, who came over and sat down next to Yahaba. Shirabu felt slightly frustrated because he wanted to spend time alone with his friend to see if he could make an estimate of his chances before he had to confess that night, but he knew the libero was one of Yahaba’s closest friends.

To make things worse, Terushima and Futakuchi decided to come over and mess with the three of them by being insufferably affectionate with each other. Their teammates kept making fun of them, but they only laughed it off and got even worse. _ Shigeru and I wouldn’t be like that _, Shirabu thought to himself. It didn’t make sense for him to think about that, but he decided that he would let himself imagine dating Yahaba until he was actually rejected.

“How’s your ace doing, Shirabu?” Right. Of course Futakuchi would ask the worst possible questions while rubbing it in everyone’s faces that he had a boyfriend.

“He’s doing fine,” Shirabu responded before looking around and lowering his voice. “And I really don’t want him to know that I know about his crush because I… have to confess to someone.”

He heard a surprised noise from across the table, and looked over to see Yahaba with his hand over his mouth. He was blushing slightly, and Shirabu thought he looked really cute. “You have a crush on someone? Who is it?” Yahaba questioned him cheerily, but he didn’t sound as happy as he did when he asked if there was really free ice cream after they finished up on the first day (there wasn’t, and Terushima got slapped for that joke).

“All I’m gonna tell you is that it’s someone you know,” Shirabu answered carefully, trying not to let himself get too flushed. Terushima pouted at that, but Futakuchi shook his head and hit Shirabu lightly.

Before Shirabu could fight back, he saw Yahaba and the libero stand up out of the corner of his eye. “Watari and I have to go talk to our coach right now.” The two excused themselves and left quickly. Neither of them had looked at their phones since they got to lunch, or they had been told to do so before they left.

“That was weird,” Futakuchi stated, but he didn’t look too surprised. Before Shirabu could ask anything, the Dateko captain gave him a smile that honestly creeped him out. “You’re in deep, aren’t you?”

Shirabu groaned. “How does everyone else know about my crush when I only realized it two days ago?” Rationally, it made sense that the other captains would know, seeing as they saw many of the interactions and conversations he had with Yahaba, but that didn’t make it any less annoying that Shirabu was the last to know about his own feelings.

“If it makes you feel any better, Ennoshita asked me if I was dating Kenji before I even realized I had a crush on him. That was what made me realize, actually,” Terushima confessed. Shirabu cracked a smile at that, but he could tell it didn’t reach his eyes.

Shirabu took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He wasn’t about to let himself back down from the challenge he had given himself the night before. “Do you think he likes me back? Last night when I mentioned my ace he looked all jealous, and just now he seemed uncomfortable when I said I liked someone.”

Terushima laughed loudly at that, and Shirabu thought he had read too far into things for a second. “Oh, he has to like you back. At least you realized that without him having to ask Ennoshita if he had a crush on anyone!”

“I thought we agreed not to talk about that!”

“Let me make him feel better!”

The couple continued to argue for a few seconds before going back to being annoyingly romantic, and Shirabu decided he had enough. Not wanting to talk to anyone after that, Shirabu decided that he would just go on a calm walk around the area until it was time to go back to the gym. Of course, the universe was against him and wouldn’t give him a break.

Yahaba had the same idea, and was leaning on a railing that overlooked a small garden nearby. Watari was nowhere to be found. He looked peaceful and lost in thought, and Shirabu didn’t want to disturb him. However, he suddenly felt some strange confidence about asking the other setter out.

“Yahaba,” Shirabu called out quietly, as if giving himself a chance to leave if the boy didn’t hear him. This wasn’t the case, and Yahaba turned around. The other captain looked rough, and his eyes were slightly red. Shirabu walked over before Yahaba could say anything to him, and he caught the way the taller boy’s eyes widened suddenly.

“What do you want,” Yahaba sneered, but there was no anger behind the words. He just seemed hurt.

“I wanted to talk to you about something, but first of all, are you okay?” Shirabu asked, and he tensed up slightly when Yahaba scoffed at him.

“Why do you care?” 

Shirabu didn’t know how to react. He could tell that Yahaba was trying to act tough, but he sounded like he was about to start crying. Shirabu didn’t know what he was doing wrong, but he knew he was somehow hurting him.

“I’m your friend, Yahaba. You seem hurt and I’m starting to worry about you,” Shirabu replied softly, trying not to let his confusion show. When Yahaba turned away and didn’t respond, Shirabu realized what he was missing. The whole crush thing was mutual.

“Shigeru. Look at me.” Shirabu sounded more desperate than he wanted to, but Yahaba turned around anyways. “I-I like you. I think I’ve liked you for a while, but I only noticed it when we first played against each other. I lied when I said I was just tired. I was actually just thinking about how I was crushing on you and that you probably didn’t like me back. And I don’t feel anything for Goshiki. He’s a close friend, but he’s nothing more.”

Yahaba looked at Shirabu for a second before turning to face him. “You better not be messing with me, Kenjirou,” Yahaba told him, his voice shaking. He really was crying now, and something made Shirabu instinctively wipe away his tears with his thumbs.

“I like you too, Kenjirou. I realized a few weeks ago, and I really wanted to tell you this week. I was going to say something on the way back last night, but then you told everyone about Goshiki. I made Watari eat with us for emotional support, and when you said you liked someone I really thought it was him, or at least someone else on your team. But it really was me, right?” Yahaba was looking at Shirabu, his brown eyes wide and watery.

“It was you,” Shirabu whispered before pulling Yahaba in for a hug. The way Yahaba wrapped his arms around him tightly finally broke Shirabu, and he started crying into the other captain’s shoulder.

After about five minutes of this, Yahaba pulled away slightly. “So… are we boyfriends now?” he asked with a huge smile on his face.

“Yes,” Shirabu confirmed, laughing. “Yes we are.”

The couple went down to the cafeteria quickly, and held hands up until they walked in. Shirabu didn’t want Goshiki to know about them yet, and Yahaba was fine with that, and long as they told others soon. Everyone else was cleaning up and getting ready to go back to the gym, so no one was there to ask where they had been.

The first game that Shiratorizawa played was against Seijoh, and Yahaba looked disappointed when he realized Shirabu wasn’t playing. “How can I beat you if you won’t even play?” he pouted, and Shirabu giggled. “Whatever. I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow!” Yahaba proclaimed loudly.

The games were all shaky with the first year setter, mainly for the same reasons that Shirabu had been having trouble with that morning. With a few tips, he was able to get everything under control during the second game, which was against the hurricane that was Johzenji. _ He’s pretty collected for someone who rarely plays in games _, Shirabu observed.

With Goshiki on the court, it was easier for this group to score, and the atmosphere was much lighter with the moodmaker ace on the court. Shirabu was terrified of telling him about Yahaba. After massaging his forehead, he returned his focus to the game and watched how his team was playing so he could help them out later.

Terushima had become much more troublesome over the course of the few days they’d been at the camp. He was a much better strategist, and it had rubbed off on his teammates at the same time. Johzenji was smart as well as well-rounded and unpredictable. Goshiki didn’t do too well when he didn’t have a good idea of what to predict. Kawanishi was able to keep him calm, but he was close to messing up some spikes. Only someone who was used to him would know how to deal with it.

They ended up winning that game as well as the one against Karasuno, but they weren’t able to beat Dateko due to the first year’s stress against the blockers. They were another powerful team that was able to compete well even without an experienced setter. It may have been because they no longer had Ushijima on their side, but Washijo had clearly underestimated their local opponents for years.

The whole team came over to Shirabu when the last whistle blew, ready to ask him for critiques. Taking a deep breath, he began his usual captain speech, which he was never going to be used to. “For starters, that was a difficult team to play. We struggle against them even when we play them as a full team. But with a setter who isn’t used to playing with half the group would struggle against them, even a starter like me. Don’t let that get you down. I can’t talk to all of you, but a little less hesitation would make your set-ups better.”

He let Kawanishi talk to the middle blockers and Goshiki to talk to the other spikers. Watching the ace talk to everyone so energetically made Shirabu feel even worse about telling him about his relationship with Yahaba. Of course he didn’t want to mention names because everyone likely still felt the same rivalry with Seijoh from the past, but he felt like his team needed to know everything.

Making sure the other two were done talking to all the other players, he started to leave the gym. “Time to go eat dinner! Don’t stay out too late; we have penalties for losing tomorrow. Let’s try not to do any,” Shirabu advised. His team was good, but they all worked too hard if given the opportunity.

He looked at his phone as he was leaving, and saw a text from Yahaba.

**Shigeru:** do you want to eat dinner with me and watari? you can bring a friend too

**Kenjirou:** sure. i’ll bring kawanishi with me

Before he could ask Kawanishi to come with him, he heard someone come up behind him. “Shirabu! How do you think I played today? I got more points than usual, so I feel good, but do you think I did well? Some of our best attackers weren’t playing so I wasn’t able to tell,” Goshiki rambled, and Shirabu could tell he was blushing just by looking over at him quickly.

“You did well, Goshiki. You helped Kawanishi hold the team together when things got rough.” _ I shouldn’t have said that _. Goshiki was definitely blushing now, but Kawanishi came over to save him from further pain.

“Who are you eating with, Shirabu? I have a few strategies I want to talk about for tomorrow,” Kawanishi interrupted. Shirabu didn’t know what he would do without him.

“I was probably just going to eat alone, but we can eat together if you want,” Shirabu told him, letting his eyes tell his vice captain that he needed Goshiki to eat with someone else.

“Goshiki, why don’t you go eat with some other people in your year? Like Hinata from Karasuno; don’t you know him from the training camp you did last year?” Kawanishi’s encouragement made Goshiki smile slightly. He nodded and ran off to where the Karasuno team was.

“Thanks for that, Taichi. I was gonna eat with Yahaba and the libero from his school. I… got together with him earlier. I’m not ready to tell Goshiki about it yet,” Shirabu revealed to his friend. This was the first person he told, and he started blushing the second he said that he was dating Yahaba. Telling everyone else was going to be a struggle, as well as awkward.

“It only took you two days? Normally I’d think you’d leave it until he confessed to you, if that ever happened. Something about Goshiki, right?” Kawanishi didn’t seem as sure as the others who had said that they knew about everything, but it still made Shirabu slightly mad. Kawanishi gave him an easy smile to comfort him, and it actually made him laugh.

“Just stay quiet about it right now. I want to ask Yahaba and make sure he’s okay with it before I tell the team,” Shirabu blushed in response. Kawanishi nodded his head and continued walking. Of course, he also turned around and gave him an overly exaggerated wink. Maybe Tendou shouldn’t have encouraged him to less static all the time.

No one on his team asked what it was about, but Yahaba came up behind Shirabu and put an arm around his shoulder, laughing when his boyfriend jumped. “Why did he wink at you, Kenjirou?” Yahaba asked in a deep voice. Shirabu elbowed him in the stomach for that, and Yahaba hit him back.

“That’s my vice captain, Kawanishi. I told him we were together because he asked me why I wanted Goshiki to eat with someone else,” Shirabu explained, rubbing his shoulder. Yahaba forgets his strength sometimes. He nodded in understanding, but didn’t seem to happy about it. “He won’t tell anyone,” Shirabu reassured, his voice softer this time.

“Well, I did tell Watari at the first opportunity I got, so I guess we’re even.” The two caught up with Kawanishi and continued joking around. The middle blocker kept telling slightly embarrassing stories about Shirabu, but Watari did the same to Yahaba whenever he laughed too hard.

Dinner was quite calm with just the four of them, other friends of theirs being waved away. “Have you ever sent your ace after someone that pissed you off? You’re able to tell him what to do, and honestly I’d run if he came after me,” Shirabu asked jokingly, but Watari and Yahaba made eye contact and laughed.

“I make him threaten one of our second years sometimes because he’s kind of lazy and won’t work hard at times. He saves strength well, but he hates when he has to play in 3-on-3s and is given a big role because he has to go all out,” Yahaba explained. Shirabu could guess which second year he was talking about, and the mental image of the two staring each other down was comical.

“Shirabu here just likes to yell at our ace,” Kawanishi revealed, and Yahaba laughed a bit before frowning slightly. “And you can’t just frown whenever someone mentions Goshiki. He’s an important part in at least half of the stories I have about Shirabu.”

Yahaba rolled his eyes, but relaxed when Shirabu squeezed his hand from under the table. “Goshiki’s one of my closest friends. But don’t worry, I’m going to talk to him soon.” Yahaba squeezed back and rested his head on Shirabu’s shoulder.

The group continued to share stories, and Yahaba and Shirabu kept getting closer. Watari was constantly pointing it out, but they ignored him. No one seemed to care about it, but Shirabu got a text from Futakuchi that he didn’t bother to open. He could feel the smugness coming from his phone the second he got the notification.

After sitting and talking for half an hour, the four decided it was time to go back. Many people were still going to be there for a while, but Shirabu and Yahaba wanted time alone, and they couldn’t leave their friends without it looking suspicious. Looking out for Goshiki as the group left, Shirabu saw him joking around with the group he had been at the training camp with. He seemed happy around them, and Shirabu hoped that they could comfort him if he was too hurt by his announcement.

Shaking his head, Shirabu decided not to think about his ace and focused his attention on his boyfriend. Yahaba grabbed his hand the second they left the building and Shirabu started blushing immediately. Yahaba seemed to have relaxed at that moment and had a lazy smile that did things to Shirabu’s heart.

“You’re so cute, Shigeru. How can you be so adorable?” Shirabu asked rhetorically, smiling when he made Yahaba blush hard. Unlike he normally would, his boyfriend didn’t hit him, but squeezed his hand quickly in response.

“Don’t say things like that. It makes me feel like I’m dreaming,” Yahaba whispered. Shirabu felt the same way. He never thought that he would ever confess anything to anyone, but here he was with a boy that managed to make his heart flutter with one simple look._ This soft stuff may be worse than Futakuchi and Terushima’s in-your-face PDA _.

The couple eventually got back to where they were staying, and realized that their walk had taken way longer than necessary due to some excessive flirting. Shirabu pointed it out with a laugh, and Yahaba laughed along with him. They also realized that their friends had walked away from them quickly, probably the second they started flirting.

“I’m going to go find Watari and Kyoutani. I can’t have you get tired of my company too quickly, Kenjirou,” Yahaba teased. Shirabu waved goodbye and decided to open his phone on his way to his own team’s room.

Terushima had also sent Shirabu a text, and somehow both Semi and Oikawa had figured out that he and Yahaba got together. There was a text from Kawanishi simply saying “hope you aren’t dead,” and finally, a text from a classmate asking him if he wanted to look at his notes.

“There you are, Shirabu! I saw that you had left early and I was wondering what took you so long to get back!” Goshiki greeted enthusiastically. Shirabu wasn’t good with coming up with excuses right off the top of his head, and Goshiki seemed like he was happy enough that Shirabu telling the team wouldn’t hurt too much.

**Kenjirou:** i’m gonna tell my team about us ok??

**Shigeru:** yeah then i should probably do that too,, love you

**Kenjirou:** love you too <3

Shirabu took a deep breath and made sure the rest of the team was there. Besides Kawanishi for some reason, they were all there and talking amongst themselves. Deciding that the middle blocker didn’t need to be there, he swallowed his nerves and started speaking.

“Hey guys, can I tell you something real quick?” Shirabu asked in a stronger voice than he thought he could use in this situation. Everyone turned around, quieting down quickly, and he continued. “I just wanted to let you guys know that I’m dating Yahaba, the current captain of Seijoh. I don’t want to have to hide that from you guys.” He heard some of his teammates whistle and others start to tease him for his bluntness, but he didn’t care.

As expected, Shirabu could see Goshiki’s eyes tear up. He decided to give the younger boy time and sat down near some of his friends. However, he still looked over at him a few times. Goshiki was sitting by himself, which was very out of the ordinary for the normally obnoxiously loud ace. Kawanishi looked at him when he walked in, and made eye contact with Shirabu.

“Did you tell them?” Kawanishi whispered to his friend. Shirabu nodded, not wanting to give him more of a response. “Go talk to him. I know you think it’s going to be awkward, but do you want Washijo yelling at you tomorrow?”

Shirabu hated that his vice captain was right. If they weren’t communicating, he and Goshiki wouldn’t be able to work together well. Giving his friend a look that he hoped expressed his dread of this conversation, Shirabu got up and walked over to Goshiki.

The ace flinched when his captain sat down close to him, but not close enough to touch. “Please don’t talk to me,” Goshiki sniffled, and Shirabu realized just how red the other boy’s eyes were. There were clear tear tracks on his face, which made Shirabu’s own eyes water.

“We both know you don't mean that. Let’s talk in the hall,” Shirabu suggested quietly, and Goshiki nodded his head slightly. No one said anything about the two leaving the room, but it was likely clear to everyone what the younger boy was feeling.

They found a quiet spot that wasn’t close to anywhere people would be hanging out and sat down. Goshiki wouldn’t even look at Shirabu, and the captain felt his heart break. “Goshiki, please talk to me. I need you to tell me what’s wrong,” Shirabu pleaded, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

“I really like you, Shirabu. It seems like you know that already, but I wanted to tell you. I was actually planning on telling you tonight, funnily enough. Even when you made fun of me all the time last year, I looked up to you so much. It’s been great to get closer to you this year, and I guess that’s why I started to like you.

“It may have always been there, but I knew I had a crush on you when you started being nicer to me after you officially became captain. There was always some weird feeling I would get when you talked to me, and it got more intense when we became close friends. You always said things to me that you would have probably said to anyone, but I took them differently.

“I hate that I have to confess to you like this, but I guess I have to thank you for telling everyone so I didn’t make a fool of myself in front of you. But I guess that’s what I’m doing right now.” Somewhere during that speech, Goshiki started crying. Shirabu had been crying after the first words, and maybe that made the ace cry as well.

Reflexively, Shirabu wrapped his arms around the younger boy. The interaction reminded him of what had happened earlier with Yahaba, which caused him to tense up slightly. Before Goshiki said anything about it, Shirabu relaxed and calmed down his breathing to help his friend calm down as well.

“This is probably going to make me look oblivious, but I didn’t realize that I liked Yahaba or that you liked me until about two days ago,” Shirabu started, smiling when he heard Goshiki laugh slightly. “I met Yahaba when we lost to Karasuno back in October. He helped me calm down after that, and we started to become friends. Eventually, Ushijima added me to a group chat with the other new captains, and we started talking more often.

“After about a month of this, I think my feelings started to change, but I’m so bad at that stuff that I never realized. Is it bad that I feel slightly responsible for you getting this heartbroken? If I was able to understand my feelings and tell Yahaba sooner, you wouldn’t have felt this bad, or I could’ve watched what I said to you so I didn’t lead you on-”

“Shirabu? Shut up,” Goshiki hissed. Shirabu’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t say anything. “You don’t need to blame yourself for me falling in love with you. I think I liked you even when you constantly criticised everything I did. It wouldn’t make a difference if you changed how you spoke to me. Just like how if you change how you treat me because of this, it’s only going to make this a bigger mess.”

Shirabu sighed. He had never thought the ace was the most mature person, yet that was a better take on the situation than his own. Shirabu thought that it would be too awkward to continue on as normal, but it seemed he had underestimated Goshiki.

“You’re somehow handling this better than me,” Shirabu observed, and that got a laugh out of Goshiki. They pulled away from each other and smiled. Neither of their smiles were that sincere, but it was more of a gesture to show support.

“You’ve always underestimated me, Shirabu. I’m used to it,” Goshiki teased. Despite the fact that he knew it was a joke, it made Shirabu feel bad to hear that he had been a bit of a jerk to the younger boy. The year before, it was mostly out of frustration that Goshiki was trying so hard to be Ushijima, which made him unable to play his best. Maybe Shirabu had always cared about him more than he realized.

“You feel better now?” Shirabu asked casually. Goshiki clearly appreciated how the setter didn’t try to change his behavior. He nodded and got up, already walking back to hang out with the rest of the team.

Shirabu didn’t get up with him, which slightly confused Goshiki. “I’m going to go talk to Yahaba,” Shirabu explained, and the spiker nodded. His face dropped at the statement, and Shirabu cringed slightly. He didn’t want to say anything, but it was hard to just let him go without another word.

Goshiki didn’t say anything else, so Shirabu pulled out his phone to send a text to Yahaba.

**Kenjirou:** hey i just talked to goshiki and i need emotional support

**Shigeru:** how did it go? also where should we meet

**Kenjirou:** better than i expected but he’s still really hurt so i am too

**Shigeru:** aw :( we can meet by that bench behind the building ok?

**Kenjirou:** see you there <3

Sending hearts to Yahaba felt much more natural after confessing than it had when it was just two friends teasing. Remembering how his heart rate sped up every time he got any text from Yahaba that could possibly be interpreted as flirty made Shirabu realize how out of touch he was with his feelings. So much could have been avoided if he had decided to not repress everything, but he was going to listen to Goshiki and not blame himself for anything.

Yahaba was sitting on the bench when Shirabu got there, and he had some water as well as a concerned expression. He was always a caring person, even if he tried to hide it with jokes about the rivalries he had with all the other teams. Shirabu wouldn’t say he was a mom friend, and not just because of how weird that would be. Either way, he was still an overly caring friend, which Shirabu had been thankful for at that moment.

Sitting down with a groan, Shirabu took a water bottle from his boyfriend and sat down. Yahaba couldn’t hold back the quiet giggle that escaped him at the noise, but the concerned face returned before he could be hit by the shorter boy. “Do you want to talk about it yet?” he asked quietly. He knew how to help Shirabu after a few late night phone calls, and it was nice that he wasn’t going to change that with their relationship.

“Semi told me that telling you would be the best outcome, but after seeing Goshiki cry, I don’t know if I can agree with that. Do you think he really would’ve felt worse if I had rejected him without a reason other than me not liking him?” Shirabu let out all of his thoughts, and didn’t realize that he was about to cry until Yahaba pulled him close and rested his head on his shoulder.

“I think it would’ve been harder on him. It wouldn’t be visible, but he might’ve felt like he wasn’t worth it if you told him no and you weren’t in a relationship already,” Yahaba reasoned. It did make sense that Goshiki would think that way, especially because the ace cared so much about what people thought of him. Having one of the most important people in his life reject him like that would definitely harm him more than he would care to admit.

“Did you tell your team about us?” Shirabu changed the direction of the conversation quickly, not wanting to dwell on the topic of Goshiki any longer.

Yahaba laughed, which made Shirabu jump because of how close the other boy was to his ear. “I’m pretty sure Watari sent a video of me telling them to Oikawa because I got about five cheesy quotes about betrayal as well as an entire rant about him being ‘disappointed’ in me. But I bet he’s happy that I no longer have to text Iwaizumi about you. I know he sent screenshots of my pining to his boyfriend, that traitor.”

This time, Shirabu laughed as well. “I texted Semi about you, and he directed me to Oikawa because I wanted more advice. He gave me a short version of the betrayal speech as well, which I don’t get because I’m on the team he hates.” The feeling of Yahaba smiling into his neck at the story made Shirabu shiver, which his boyfriend noticed, pulling away slightly to look into his eyes.

“You good?” Yahaba asked in a low voice, making Shirabu blush hard. The smile on his boyfriend’s face gave away the fact that he was teasing the older boy. Had Shirabu not been having a slight gay panic at the moment, he would have teased Yahaba back. Instead, he pushed him, and apparently miscalculated his strength, seeing as Yahaba fell off the bench.

“Kenjirou! What was that for?” Yahaba exclaimed, and it would’ve been scarier if he wasn’t pouting.

“You were teasing me,” Shirabu stated plainly. Yahaba laughed even as his boyfriend pulled him up, but stopped as soon as Shirabu stood up. The two were standing close, and it felt closer than it had when they were sitting on the bench. Judging by how well he could see his boyfriend’s eyes, Shirabu realized the main difference was that their faces were only a few inches apart, and his boyfriend was making it worse with the way he was looking into his eyes.

Sensing Shirabu’s discomfort, Yahaba pulled away and let him relax. He never let go of his hand, but he still sat back down, tugging the other to sit next to him. “Not ready to kiss yet?” Yahaba asked casually, for once not commenting on the blush on the other setter’s cheeks.

“I only just realized I liked you, so I guess not?” Shirabu sounded more like he was asking a question, but they both knew it was a statement. Yahaba hummed in response and laid his head on Shirabu’s shoulder.

“We can just sit like this for now.”

“Yeah.”

“Smooth, Kenjirou.”

“Shut up.”

\---

Futakuchi brought all attention to the new couple as soon as they walked into the gym the next morning. With a performance that rivaled Oikawa’s speeches, the ace pretended to faint out of shock, only to be caught by Ennoshita, who looked like he had been forced into this. Shirabu knew this was Kawanishi’s fault, but he decided he’d deal with it later.

“You ready to get your ass kicked, baby?” Shirabu smirked at his boyfriend. They were playing each other first thing, and both their teams had teased them on the way over.

“I know exactly how to distract you, Kenjirou,” Yahaba whispered into the shorter captain’s ear, causing him to blush immediately.

“You play dirty,” Shirabu pouted, glaring as his boyfriend laughed at him loudly. Turning to Kawanishi, he sighed. “He’s going to be the death of me, Taichi.”

“Just kick his ass in this game,” Kawanishi shrugged, which caused Yahaba to scoff at the vice captain.

Playing against Yahaba as his boyfriend was entertaining, and both teams probably realized that the captains were trying their hardest to outdo each other. Despite the teasing from both sides, the two setters continued to one up the other, which almost got Shirabu in trouble with Washijo for trying to stand out too much.

In the end, Seijoh managed to take the set against them. Yahaba’s proud smile almost made up for the loss, but Shirabu would never admit that to anyone.

**Author's Note:**

> well there's that i hope it wasn't too bad. i barely edited this so if there's any mistakes then big rip.


End file.
